Review Detail

EXCA-GATOR! is a cute picture book about teamwork. Exca-Gator is excited to get to work with his excavator and tries to do everything himself. When he finds himself in a bit of a mess, he learns that the best way to do it is with the help of others, working together.

What I loved: This is a delightful book to read aloud. The text is rhyming and has a great rhythm that rolls off the tongue. The text is likewise easy to read and follow throughout. The story will heavily appeal to construction and truck lovers, with lots of cool vehicles pictured with their animal operators. The excavator can do a lot - but it can't do everything, as gator learns throughout the story.

The illustrations are fantastic with lots of details. They tell the story alongside the text, capturing the messes when the text does not speak them aloud. This is definitely a book intended to be visually explored and enjoyed with the text, which is great for elementary school aged picture book readers.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the messes/mistakes that gator makes when trying to do things alone is shown in the images but not really described in the text. This makes the lesson a little more abstract and not as concrete when he learns that he needs to work with others to accomplish things. Having this spelled out would help younger readers get it more easily, though older readers can interpret and consider on their own.

Final verdict: EXCA-GATOR! is a charming and fun story with a lesson about teamwork that will work well for elementary school aged picture book readers.